Autobiography of Edward Phillips (1813-1896)

This sketch was written by Sylvia Phillips, then a fourteen year old granddaughter
of Edward Phillips, as he dictated it to her in the year 1889. Italicized portions
are apparently Phillips' corrections/additions.
Typescript in hands of family.

Edward Phillips, son of William and Mary Phillips, born in Oxenhall Parrish [Parish],
Glouscestershire [Gloucestershire], England, April 2, 1813. He was christened April 3, 1813.

When [I was] six months old my father moved to Leigh, Worcestershire, Upper Sandlin, and there
rented a farm of one hundred acres for three years. From there moved to Black House, Creadley,
Herefordshire, and rented a farm of seventy-five acres for four years then returning to Upper
Sandlin and rented that farm again for three years. From there he moved to Creadley and rented
another farm. While working there he was taken sick and died at Longley Groen [Green], Suckley,
Worcestershire, November 29, 1825, at the age of sixty-two. He married Mary Ann Pressdee in
Worcestershire, being about ten years her senior. She was the mother of eleven children.
From that time I employed myself farming and learning blacksmithing. I joined the society
called the "United Brethern" whose president and leader was Thomas Kington. Everything worked
well with us until within a year of the time Brother Wilford Woodruff arrived in our neighborhood.
It seemed to me that we had come to a precipice and could not go any farther until Brother Wilford
Woodruff placed a bridge over that precipice and we went on with glad hearts rejoicing. I went to
hear him preach at Ridgeway Crossing on or about March 15, 1840. A day or two following I went to
Hill's Farm to hear him speak. When I started my good old mother said, "Edward, I should think
you will not come back without being baptized." I obeyed this council. I was the
only male member of my father's family who received the gospel. My sister Susan followed suite.
I was one of the forty-six preachers that Brother Woodruff speaks of in his "Leaves of My Journal."
The forty-six were baptized except one, that was Phillip Holdt. Brother Woodruff baptized me at
Hill Farm where he baptized six hundred. He told me not long ago, that less had apostatized out
of that lot than any other of the same number in the church.

I[n] a few days after I was baptized, I was ordained a priest and put in charge of two branches,
Ashfield and Crocutt, with George Brooks as my addistant [assistant]. This was near Sherrage,
Leigh, Worcestershire. In the fall of that year, I was ordained an elder at the conference,
under the hands of Brother Woodruff, and was sent to preach the gospel with Elder John Gaily
to the Forest of Deane and Glouscestershire [Gloucestershire]. There I had the privilege of
visiting my father's family. We traveled and preached nearly a year and many were brout [brought]
into the church under our administration. My mother embraced the gospel about this time under the
hands of Brother Woodruff at a place called Moorings Cross, Maythen Parrish [Parish], Herfordshire
[Herefordshire], 1841.

I left my home to emigrate to America. I went to Gloucester and in company with one hundred
saints went to Bristol and boarded the "Carolina" for America. We set
sail for Quebec, August 8th, 1841. We had a tedious voyage of eight weeks and three
days, but landed safely. Thomas Richardson was our President. We set sail for
Quebec, from Quebec we went to Montreal by steamer, and from Montreal through the
lock to Kinston and then we sailed along Lake Ontario to Lewiston. We had a fine view
of the city of Toronto. From Lewiston we boarded the train (which was drawn by mules) from
Niagara Falls.

The next day we boarded the train for Buffalo and arrived at that place after dark. We put
up at the Farmer's Exchange for a week because of sickness. We then boarded the
Chespeake [Chesapeake] for where now stands the great city of Chicago. We hired a man there
to take us to Nauvoo with a team which contract he filled. We arrives [arrived] at Nauvoo
in the latter part of October, 1841, on Saturday. On Sunday, I was anxious to see the
Prophet. I attended meeting there and saw him for the first time. I did not need an
introduction for I knew him the moment I saw him. He preached the gospel of salvation
to us that morning which caused my heart to rejoice. Next day, Monday, I went to work
in quarrying rock for the temple, (that was my first days work in America) near the upper
Stone House on the Mississippi River. I continued to work on the temple and the Nauvoo
House, most of the winter. I boarded with an old friend by the name of Jenkins, a shoemaker.
There I fell in love with my present wife, who had preceeded [preceded] me a few weeks to
America. On the 2nd of August of the next year, being one year from the time I left home,
we were married by Heber C. Kimball near Camp Creek in Hancock County. She bore me fifteen
children, nine of whom are still living, three of whom were born in Illinois, and the two
first, a boy and a girl, died there. We were driven from their graves at the point of a
bayonet, which was very grievous to us. I had some land and made me a nice home near
where they were buried. I was working in the field near the house when the news came
that the Prophet and his brother were killed at Carthage Jail. This made me shed bitter
tears for I felt they were two good friends and I knew Joseph was a true prophet of God.
He had said that he would go and die for the people. I was under arms in Nauvoo when he gave
himself up to die for the people. He discharged us and told us to go home and he would go and
die for us. We would gladly have gone and stood between him and death, but he would not let
us. I was ready and willing to go. We were quartered at the tithing yard and slept in the
Nauvoo Exposition Building. We went one day for foliage for our horses, and met Gen. Joseph
Smith with his staff in the street. He cheered us and said, "Well done, boys." We had been
out inspecting the ground where we expected to meet our enemies. Word came to our Captain
one night that the pickett guard was driven in and we were ordered out in the dead of night
to go and meet the mob. I was determined to go and assist, so I borrowed a horse from a boy
who did not like to go himself. Nevertheless this proved to be a false alarm and I went
back disappointed. The prophet said he would go and die for us. He did and was
butchered in cold blood. I was not there when he was killed, but I went later and took
my wife with me to show her the well, curb, and the window where he jumped out when he was shot.

I have a Patriarchal blessing hanging in a frame in my room, which was pronounced upon my
head by the prophet and patriarch, Hyrum Smith, in the fall of 1844[1843?], which is worth more
than gold to me - Gold is no name for it. The predictions are being literally fulfilled every
day. I know if I prove faithful it will all come to pass. I knew then and also know now that
Joseph was a true prophet of God, and that the mantle of Joseph fell on Brigham Young who was
his legal successor.

I was present at the meeting when this took place and heard with
my own ears and saw with my own eyes. We all thought Joseph had come back to us although we
knew he was in his grave. I was standing by the temple talking to Brother Woodruff and he
pointed out a spot to me on the opposit[e] side of the river about a mile and a half above
Montrose, and said there would be a city and a temple built there and the place would be
called Zarahemla. I was at Nauvoo when the temple was finished and dedicated. I went up
into the tower and wrote my name there. As I understand, the wicked have burned that temple
to the ground and it is all destroyed like the Jerusalem temple. But I expect to see that
temple re-erected and the one built on the opposite side of the river to match.

Before leaving Nauvoo in 1846 (for that was the time that we were driven far away) I want
to McDonald's near McAween's Mill to try to sell my little farm. There I found a few of
Joseph and Hyrum's murderers drinking together. One of them was "Old Tom Dickson" of
Locus Grove, and an old professed friend of mine. If it had not been for him, I expect
they would have butchered me also for they placed a pistol in the hands of a little boy
about eight years of age, and told him to say "Damn you Sir, I could kill you." The
little fellow swung his revolver and acted bravely over the affair.

In May 1846,
we started on our journey West. Left Camp Creek passed through Pontique and crossed the
Mississippi at Fort Madison. Traveling through Iowa and the season being very wet, it
was very laborious to get through. We had to travel the ground three or four times
over to help each other. We did not arrive at Council Bluffs until the Battilion
[Battalion] had left for Fort Leavenworth under command of Col. Allen. Council Point
was our winter quarters. We remained there until 1849.

Leaving there in the spring
of '49 with Capt. Gulley's company. William Hyde was Captain of our fifty. We traveled
until we arrived at Grand Island. Capt. Gulley was taken sick and died there. Daniel
Collett and myself washed him and dressed him and laid him away. We then appointed
Orsen [Orson] Spencer as Captain of our hundred for the remainder of the journey.
The cholera was very troublesom[e] on the road, it being the year of the California
gold craze. A great many of the emigrants died of cholera. It also got among the
Indians and made them very angry with the whites for crossing their country. A great
many of them were camped at Scotch Bluffs and were threatened to war with the emigrants.
When we arrived at Scotch Bluffs, soldiers were called for at Fort Laramie to come and
meet us which they did and guarded us through in safety. We traveled the balance of the
way in safety to Salt Lake Valley in October of 1849. I turned in and built a log house
on a ten-acre lot south of Salt Lake to dwell in for that winter. I got logs out of Red
Butte Canyon. I bought a five ace lot of Gardener Potter's trading him one of my old
favorite steers for it. In the winter of 1849-50 John H. Green and myself started noth
[north] to hunt a farm. We traveled to the north extremity of the county (what is now
Davis County) to the sandridge until we encountered snow so deep and frozen so hard that
we could not travel farther. We concluded to return (rather than perish) to find shelter.
We had intended going as far as Ogden finding us a farm, but the snow prevented us from doing
so. We went back and stayed over night with S. O. Holmes. We concluded the creek was the best
place we had seen and returned in the spring of 1850.

On or about April 10, 1850, I started with my family for what is now Kaysville Creek, but
which many at present call Kay's Creek, but I arrived one day previous to Bishop Kay.
We settled there on Sandy Creek in Frosoloscey's survey which we called Phillips Creek.
In a day or two after our arrival on what is now Kay's Creek, we took our plows
and started about the same time. We had five bushels of club head wheat each, which
we sowed broadcast. I sowed mine on six acres. Brother Kay sowed his on five. We
plowed land for farming side by side, being about equal in quality. I raised two
hundred fifty bushels from my six. He raised two hundred ten from his five.

President Young paid us a visit after we had harvested our crop and he wanted to
know how much I had raised. I told him two hundred and fifty bushel. I[He?] was
asked why his[my?] crop was the best on the creek that season and I said it was due
to the prayers I offered at the time of planting. He told of this in a sermon on
the stand in the Salt Lake City Tabernacle, to try and show the increase. This was done
without a fence, but we had to stand guard night and day to watch as well as pray; for
there were from one to two hundred cattle turned out every night about a mile above us
belonging to emigrants who were on their way to the California gold diggings. The country
north of us for almost twenty miles was covered with a luxuriant growth of grass. We called
it bunch grass. In the fall of the year, it would wave in the breeze like a grain field.
It was rich for wintering stock. That is now a dry farming country, raising from 15 to 25
bushels of wheat per acre. I have lived to see within the last ten years from 15-20 headers
all running in sight at the same time, cutting and putting in the stack from 25 to 30 acres
each day. I owned on [one] of them. Probably a dog threshing machine following up separating
the wheat from the straw and chaff.

President Young and his council and company arrived at our settlement in the fall of 1850
and organized a ward, appointing William Kay as bishop, myself and John H. Green as his
councilers [councilors]. On a subsequent meeting by President Young predicted that the
waters would increase sufficiently to supply three wards instead of one which has been
fulfilled. At that time we had hardly enough water for one ward. Now it is divided into
two wards and we are expecting it to be sub-divided into the third. At the time of my first
settling here, we could not raise a peach tree, but the elements are so softened that now we
can raise any kind of fruit. In 1850 I carried a chain for Surveyor Lemon form [from] the
first creek south to our settlement, the first survey in this ward. After this, Jesse Fox
was our surveyor. When I came to Kaysville, I brought with me an aged mother and a short
sketch of her life. The summer of 1850, I built a log house being the year the Ward was
organized. The following summer, I built another and in 1853, I built the first adobe
house in Kaysville Ward, consisting of three rooms. On March 15, 1854, [I,] Edward Phillips,
was married to my second wife Martha Annly Taylor by President Brigham Young, in the Endowment
House. To this union three children were born. She died July 16, 1864.

In 1855, President Young counciled [counseled] us to build a meeting house about two miles
east of where we had settled. We selected a spot at which place there was a military post,
the commander being Captain Joseph Taylor. We united with him for protection against Indians
and walled in a fort about covering sixty acres. Some of the walls of which are still standing
today. In this fort we had the foundation of the meeting house. The dimensions being 90 by 45
feet which is in a good state of preservation today. It was commenced in the winter of 1855
and 1856 and completed in 1862.

About this time we were advised by the President of the Church to enlarge our fort
sufficiently to make a city of it. After doing this, we built a wall around the whole of it
consisting of one hundred twenty acres or a quarter of a section. Our location was a beautiful
one being between the Wasatch Mountains and Great Salt Lake. About six miles of rolling country
between and from ten to fifteen miles from North to South. In 1856, Bishop Kay was called on a
mission to Carson Valley and Allen Taylor was appointed to take his place as Bishop. After the
return of the Carson mission, Christopher Layton was appointed to take his place as bishop.

In his turn as bishop, he was appointed as one of the Legislature of Utah, and while in
the position, he procured a charter of the city of Kay's-ville, which has been in running order
ever since under different mayors. That is Kaysville as it was. Now Kaysville as it is: Our
bishop is Peter Barton, John R. Barnes and Thomas F. Rouche as his councilors, who are giving
satisfaction. Hyrum Stewart as mayor and the city council govern the city.

Our ward was divided into two wards. We have two roller mills, a creamery, two post offices,
six free district schools in full operation, a very nice academy consisting of $8,000, a city
hall costing about $6,000, one millinery, one very nice grocery store, two railroad depots,
four blacksmith shops, six general merchandise stores, a Z.C. M. I. and many fine residences.
My farm where I first settled consists of one hundred acres divided into twelve fields with the
intention of carrying the sheep industry. I have three artesian well[s]. One averaging three
gallons a minute, one seven, and the largest 70-75 gallons per minute. This one supplies a
fish pond which is well supplied with carp. I have lived to be nearly eighty years, to see
the third generation. I have had eighteen children of whom thirteen lived to marry;
ninety-nine grandchildren and some great grandchildren.